The 500cc title race levels out at the summer break

The 500cc title race levels out at the summer break

The Cinzano Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland has seen the race for the 500cc title draw almost level going into the summer break. Biaggi has closed the gap on Rossi, confirming his great moment of form and proving that Rossi is not invincible. Yesterday at the Sachsenring circuit the Yamaha rider took to the track with the clear objective of breaking away from pole position and not allowing Rossi to stage one of his famous comebacks through the field to take victory with only a few laps to spare. Biaggi dominated the race and Rossi was unable to match the race rhythm set by his main title rival. Just ten points now separate Rossi and Biaggi in the Championship standings.

At this stage of the season Rossi leads the Championship with five victories, one second and one third, with second placed Biaggi boasting three wins, two seconds and two thirds. The pair have left Capirossi behind, with 49 points less than Biaggi and 59 adrift of Rossi, and there seems little doubt that the closing stages of the title race will have a strong Italian flavour.

The two main stars of the first half of the season will not be relaxing during the break in the MotoGP calendar. Valentino Rossi will race in the Suzuka 8 Hours in two weeks time, whilst Max Biaggi will test alongside Carlos Checa in the Czech Republic at the end of this month. The Brno circuit has been a happy hunting ground for Biaggi in the past, and he will be looking to have the best possible chance of cutting Rossi´s advantage back still further when the second half of the season gets underway there at the end of August.